TCAL Annual Conference

September 13, 2021

New conference registration process this year!   Registration for the TCAL Annual Conference will be done via the Texas Library Association’s (TLA) meeting registration platform. TLA manages the administrative functions of TCAL by using the TLA platform, TCAL is able to avoid costly third-party registration system fees.

2021 – 2022 Membership Form Renew your membership or join now to take advantage of the new Early Bird rate!

Registration Rates

The TCAL annual conference and meeting will be held virtually on Monday, September 13, 2021.   It will be an opportunity to interact with other Texas academic library leaders and library vendors; hear from library thinkers, including Megan Oakleaf (Syracuse University), Ameet Doshi (Georgia Tech), and Texas Information and Library School deans; and hear updates from representatives from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas Library Association, The Texas Digital Library, the Texas Library Coalition for United Action, and Amigos Library Services.

Featured Speakers:

Learning Analytics & Libraries: Decisions on the Horizon for Library Leaders
Megan Oakleaf, Syracuse University

Learning analytics – the use of institutional-level systems that collect individual-level student learning data, centralize it in a record store, and serve as a unified source for research seeking to understand and support student success – is not new in higher education, but it is a growing area of awareness for many librarians and consequently raises many questions for library leaders. To what degree should libraries be involved in institutional learning analytics? What data might libraries contribute to holistic understandings of student learning and success? What ethical decisions must be confronted with regard to library involvement in this work?

What decision-making or action-taking might library inclusion in learning analytics enable? What conflicts might arise and how might they be negotiated? Join this session to understand the current landscape for libraries and learning analytics, consider how learning analytics might inform your strategic planning, anticipate tricky spots in this area of discourse, and prepare to engage further with your librarians and your campuses in this emerging area of library participation.

Megan Oakleaf is an Associate Professor in the iSchool at Syracuse University where she teaches “Reference and Information Literacy Services,” “Library Planning, Marketing, and Assessment,” “Instructional Strategies for Information Professionals,” and “Academic Librarianship.”  She is the Director of Online Engagement at the iSchool and formerly served as the Director of Instruction Quality.  Her research interests include library value and impact, outcomes assessment, learning analytics, evidence-based decision making, information literacy instruction, and information services.

Emerging Tools for User Experience: Keeping the Human in the Loop
A Critical Look at Assessing the Library User Experience
Ameet Doshi, Georgia Tech

This talk will take a critical lens to emerging tools and techniques that claim to accurately assess and improve the library user experience. Libraries of all types and sizes face a continual challenge of accurately understanding user needs. But how can emerging assessment tools be best leveraged to truly serve libraries (and not the other way around)?

Our presenter will share insights about this question from his research and discuss practical techniques for gathering user data to inform library spaces, services, and collections.

Ameet Doshi is Director of Service Experience and Program Design, and Subject Librarian for Public Policy and Law at Georgia Tech.  His research interests include bibliometrics, assessing the user experience, sustainability in library design, and designing library and learning spaces.  He has presented at the ALA, ACRL, and the ARL Assessment national conferences, and serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Learning Spaces. In addition, Ameet is co-host of a weekly podcast about libraries called “Lost in the Stacks” on WREK Atlanta where he and his co-hosts free associate an hour of music and library talk.

——–